Step 4: Attach to the camera

Step 5: Results

Here is a before and after shot to demonstrate the difference. These shots were taken in a fairly dark place with relatively high ceilings.I no way wi...

Ever wanted to take indoor photos at night, but hate the washed out look which your built in flash creates? I've often been at a pub and found the regular flash to be a bit of a pain. Thanks to a little drunken curiosity and an attention span problem, I created a flash diffuser using only an empty cigarette packet.

Step 1: Equipment Needed

Step 2: Quit Smoking.

This will not only provide you with the empty cigarette packet, but it will improve your health, make climbing stairs easier and probably save you enough money to buy a real external flash unit.

if you don't smoke, I'm sure your friendly neighbourhood chain smoker will provide you with an empty.

Step 3: Removing the foil

Remove the foil from inside the pack, taking care not to tear it. Once the foil is removed, reverse it so the shiny side is facing inwards. Then reinsert the reversed foil into the packet. This provide a reflective surface to bounce the light out of the box.

Note: With some brands of cigarettes, you can skip this step as the foil is already facing shiny side in.

Step 4: Attach to the camera

This one's pretty obvious.

Feel free to adjust the angle of the packet's lid, to differ the angle of the flash spread. Also, experiment with position of the box. Reversing the box may also help.

The more upright your flash unit is and the lower the ceiling is, the better the results.

Step 5: Results

Here is a before and after shot to demonstrate the difference. These shots were taken in a fairly dark place with relatively high ceilings.

I no way will this replace a $400 external flash unit, but it is improvment on what you already have using something that you can probably find on the floor the next time your at a pub.

Great Instructable! I'll have to change brands though. The shiny side of my Pall Malls wrapper is red. Now, if you could only solve the problem of the blurry pictures I get during my Smoker's Cough spells.

You should have added a shot without using the flash at all. I have a sneaking suspicion that you have incandescent lights, and that the second photo didn't really get much light, and it's just the available lighting. I can't be sure, of course, without asking, but that's my assumption.

I hope you don't mind the necroposting, but - This is a great instructable, I adapted it to my film fisheye cam - the original flash was obscured by its honking huge lens. Basically the same as the guy down there did. I used the shiny side of aluminum foil instead of the carton foil for a brighter flash transfer but have yet to see the results - hopefully I'll finish up my roll tonight and develop it tomorrow.

Testing the flash out looks decent - if I dont get the effect I'm looking for though (ie. if the flash simply ends up at an odd degree or too far from the view angle) I will probably make a ring diffuser. Fingers crossed though!

Whatever you use, you will be loosing some light on your subject. Most built in flashes are pretty limited. Most about 10 feet or so. For the closer shots, like 3 feet (1 meter) or less, a difusser is great to have. You can use a tissue, handkerchief, T-shirt, thin cardboard... you are limited by your imagination. I have put my finger over my flash to reduce and defuse the light on close up shots. It puts a lot of red into the pic... Since digital pics are soooooooo cheap.. just play with stuff and see what happens. A cotton ball or "mini-pad" can work too... Aside from gravity.. there are no rules....

Brilliant. I only smoke when I drink and I only drink a few times a month so when I buy a pack of cigarettes or prime times they last a while. I happened to have a pack of prime times when i came across this. i played around with it to suit my camera. I shoot with a Nikon D60 and i found cutting the bottom of the prime times box just before the P is perfect. Took a few with and without shots, and i am very excited about this. Also I find since the inside of the box is white, it doesn't make a difference with or with out the foil.

Well, no. This bounces the harsh light from the flash off of foil/paper, whatever, and reflects it back. Putting a piece of paper in front of your flash will just block it, and nothing will happen at all. It's the same as when studios point halogen lights at diffusing screens, to get a more even, balanced light without any harsh shadows.